Method of washing bottles.



R. L. GALLUP.

METHOD OF WASHING BOTTLES.

APPLICATfON FILED APR. 10.1911.

1., 1 1 Aw Patented Nov. 23, 1915.

- v III."Illlllllll'llllllllll'llllllllllffgqlllf' llpl l plipll r ll l ROCELL Li GALLUP, 01E CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNGB, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, T BARRY-WJEHMILLER MACHINERY COMPANY, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, A GOR- rona'ritoia or misso'oni.

METHOD 01E .WASHING BOTTLES.

To all whom it may concern:

Be. it known that I, ROCKWE L L. GALLUP, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Methods of Washing Bottles, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a method of washing bottles and is'particularly adapted for washing beer bottles, milk bottles, etc, although the size, shape and character of the bottles to be washed are immaterial so far as the present invention is concerned.

The washing and cleansing of bottles as now commonly practised consists in applying a hot lwashing solution to the. interior and exterior of the bottles to remove the labels and the greater part of the dirt and foreignmatter adhering to the bottles. In order to more effectively loosen the labels and dirt from the bottles the washing solution is applied at a high temperature and thus, of course, heating the bottles so that they need be cooled again before they emerge from the washing machine in order that they may be handled. It is customary therefore, to subject the bottles, after they have been washed with the high temperature washing solution, to a washing solution at an intermediate temperature and subsequently to rinse them with water at a still lower temperature. This gradual transition of the bottles from a high to a low temperature has been considered necessary for the reason that if cold water comes in contact with the exterior of the bottles when they are at a high temperature, the bottles are immediately broken by the violent contraction of the glass.

It is the object of my present invention to .eliminate the intermediate step, that is, the

washing of the bottles with water at a temperature intermediate the hot washing solution and the cold rinsing solution and to subject the bottles immediately after they have been washed by the hot solution to the action of the cold rinsing solution without'' breaking the bottles. ll'am enabled to accomplish this object by introducing the cold rinsing solution to the interior only of the hot bottles, having discovered that the bottles will not crack or break by reason of the contraction of the glass if the cold water not permitted to come in contact with the exterior.

For the purpose of illustrating how my invention may be carried out I have illustrated in the accompanying drawings one form of mechanism which may be employed for this purpose.

Un the drawings the figure represents a fragmentary longitudinal sectional view of a bottle washing machine adapted to carry out my invention.

Referring to the drawings, 1 designates a carrier of any suitable type provided with sockets 2 adapted to receive the necks of bottles 3 and hold them in inverted position. A chamber 4: adapted to contain a hot washing solution is disposed beneath the carrier preferably adjacent one end thereof and in this chamber is mounted a chest 5 provided with hollow spindles or tubes 6 spaced apart the same distance as the sockets 2, so-that each sprindle willv be disposed beneath a bottle to inject the washing solution thereinto each time the carrier stops as it is intermittently traversed thrbugh the chamber by any well known or preferred driving mechanism. The washing solution is supplied to the chest 5 through a supply pipe 7 connected with any suitable source of supply under pressure, this pipe being ordinarily connected with a pump which draws the washing solution from the chamber 4 and forces it into the chamber 5. In order that the dirt, labels and other foreign matter adhering to the bottles may be thoroughly loosened and removed, this washing solution is maintained at a high temperature, preferably about 150 to 170 degrees Fahrenheit. As the bottles travel along they are sprayed both inside and out by the solution issuing from the tops of the spindles 6, this solution entering the bottles from the spindles at each stoppage of the carrier and spraying over the exterior of the bottles during the move ment of the carrier. A hood or shield 8 is positioned above the bottles to deflect the solution which shoots up betwlen the bottles back onto the bottoms thereof. It will be apparent after the bottles have passed over a series of these issuing jets they will be brought to the same temperature as the solution.

Heretofore it has been necessary to subject the hot bottles te a liquid at inter .coole ing solution to a position over the spindles or tubes 9 mounted upon a chest 10 which is connected by a pipe 11 to any suitable source of water supply. A valve or other means may be employed to control the supply of water so that it is admitted under pressure to the chest only after the bottles have been positioned over the spindles. The rinsing liquid or water thereupon issues from the ends of the hollow spindles into the interior of the hot bottles, striking the bottoms thereof and spraying over the interior of the sides. If this cold water were permitted to come in contact with theexterior of the hot bottles they would be immediately cracked or broken by the violent contraction of the glass, but by introducing the water into the interior of the bottles only, I find that no injurious effects are produced upon the bottles and that water at a temperature of 32 degrees may be safely introduced into hottles whose temperature is 160 degrees or more. The bottles are subjected to the action of a number of cold jets of water issuing from the spindles 9 so that their temperature is sufliciently reduced to permit the exterior to be sprayed and rinsed by jets of cold water, after which a spray of cold water is applied to the exterior of the bottles from perforated pipes 12 mounted above the bottles so that the water issuing therefrom will strike the bottoms and sides of the bottles thereby effectually rinsing and cleansing them.

While I have shown in a general way one type of machine by which my invention may be carried out, I do not wish to be restricted in any way to any particular type or character of machine, it being obvious that the washing solution may be applied to the bottles by immersing them in a tank containing the solution or in any other preferred man ner, it being only necessary, to prevent the bottles from breaking, that the cold rinsing liquid be introduced into the interior of the hot bottles and be not permitted to come in contact with the exterior thereof until the temperature has been materially reduced.

I claim:

I. The method of quickly cooling hot bottles without cracking which consists in applying to the interior only of a hot bottle a cooling liquid at such a low temperature as would crack the bottle if applied to the exterior thereof.

2. In the washing of bottles, the steps of subjecting the bottles to a washing solution of high temperature, and while the bottles are still hot applying to the interiors only thereof a cooling liquid at such a low temperature as would crack the bottles if applied to the exteriors thereof.

3. The method of washing bottles, consisting in subjecting each bottle to the action of a jet of hot washing liquid and subsequently before the bottle is cooled introducing a jet of cold rinsing liquid to the interior only of the bottle.

4. The method of washing bottles, consisting in washing the bottles with a washing solution at high temperature, introducing cold rinsing liquid to the interior only of the bottles while in heated condition, and subsequently spraying rinsing liquid over the exterior of the bottles after the temperature has been reduced from the interior.

ROCKWELL L. GALLUP.

Witnesses:

IRA J. WILSON, M. A. KIDDIE. 

